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"DOOMSDAY" (2008) (Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Extreme Extreme *Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Mild Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Thriller: Three decades after Scotland was walled off to quarantine a deadly and contagious virus, a group of specialists head back inside the country to try to find a cure when the virus resurfaces. PLOT: It's the year 2035 and Eden Sinclair (RHONA MITRA) is a major in the British military, an efficient soldier who carries out various jobs for Bill Nelson (BOB HOSKINS), the chief of the Department of Domestic Security. He reports directly to Prime Minister John Hatcher (ALEXANDER SIDDIG) and his right-hand man, Michael Canaris (DAVID O'HARA), both of whom are worried about a recent development. It seems that nearly 30 years ago, an outbreak of the deadly and contagious Reaper virus spread like wildfire throughout Scotland. As a last resort, the Brits literally walled in the population with a thirty-foot-high barrier, ordered that no one be let in or out, and hoped that would prevent the problem from spreading. Now, however, there's been an outbreak in London, and the government is desperate for a solution. They hope they've found it in surveillance footage of Glasgow that's recently shown activity in the streets where everyone presumably would have been long dead. Their hopes are buoyed by the earlier work of a scientist by the name of Kane (MALCOLM McDOWELL) who was working on a cure, but he hasn't been heard from in a very long time. Nevertheless, he or someone following in his footsteps is their only viable hope, so Nelson opts to send Eden on a recon mission to find out what's going on and bring back a cure. Joining her is military man Norton (ADRIAN LESTER); armored transport drivers Chandler (RICK WARDEN) and Read (NORA-JANE NOONE); gunners Carpenter (LESLIE SIMPSON) and Miller (CHRIS ROBSON), and researchers Dr. Talbot (SEAN PERTWEE) and Dr. Stirling (DARREN MORFITT). So as not to draw any attention, the mission is top-secret, and Eden and her team are given 46 hours to get in, find the cure, and get out. Once in country and searching for Kane, they encounter a bunch of punk survivors led by the brutal but charismatic Sol (CRAIG CONWAY) and his heavily tattooed woman, Viper (LEE-ANNE LIEBENBERG), none of which are happy to see them, especially once the bullets start flying. From that point on, and after rescuing one of Sol's prisoners, Cally (MYANNA BURING), and then having to contend with Kane's forces, Eden and her team do what they can to survive, all while looking for that much-needed cure. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into post-apocalyptic type action flicks, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content/nudity. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: RHONA MITRA plays a British military/government operative sent into walled off Scotland to look for a cure for the Reaper virus. She's a no-nonsense woman who's more than able to handle herself and most any situation. She kills many people, uses strong profanity, and smokes. BOB HOSKINS plays her government handler who assigns her that task, but isn't crazy about the way Canaris is taking charge. He uses strong profanity, kills an infected person, and smokes a few times. ALEXANDER SIDDIG plays the British Prime Minister who must decide what to do when the Reaper virus reappears in London. DAVID O'HARA plays his solemn assistant, a power-hungry government official who will do anything to get to the top. ADRIAN LESTER plays a British soldier who's assigned to help Eden assemble her recovery crew. He kills various people and uses strong profanity. RICK WARDEN and NORA-JANE NOONE play the drivers of the armored transport vehicles. LESLIE SIMPSON and CHRIS ROBSON play two of the team's gunmen. SEAN PERTWEE and DARREN MORFITT play two medical men assigned to go along on the cure expedition. CRAIG CONWAY plays the crazed and tattooed, Mohawk-wearing leader of the survivor punks in Glasgow who enjoys his power that includes determining who lives and dies. He uses strong profanity and tortures Eden by repeatedly punching her. LEE-ANNE LIEBENBERG plays his heavily tattooed, equally crazed, and violent wife or girlfriend who burns and decapitates a captive, and battles with Eden. MYANNA BURING plays Kane's daughter who's imprisoned by Sol (her brother), but helps Eden when the latter helps her escape. MALCOLM McDOWELL plays a scientist who was working on a cure for the Reaper virus, but now serves as ruler of pure-breed group of survivors who live a medieval lifestyle in a castle. Blaming the British government for him losing his family, he no longer cares about a cure, and enjoys his powerful seat. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/thriller that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 55 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. A bare-breasted woman is briefly seen (bathing in a scene that then turns violent), as are some scantily clad "pole dancers" in a futuristic society (bikini type tops, thong bottoms, fishnet stockings). Various shirtless men are also seen, but not in a sexual context, although one man appears bound in an S&M type fashion. Violence consists of a tremendous amount of deaths and murders, via a wide variety of means (all sorts of gunfire, explosions, stabbings, various vehicular accidents, being burned alive, shot by arrows, and much, much more), much of which has extremely graphic, gory and bloody results (including decapitations and severing of appendages, while infected people have very bad looking skin lesions and vomit up blood, etc.). Fighting and some beatings also occur, and all/some of those scenes and various moments of potential peril (along with disturbing looking visuals) may be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary for younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for that sort of material. All of the action, stunts and more might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while all sorts of bad attitudes are present. Various characters smoke, there's brief alcohol content (and a drug deal that's busted), and some tense family material is briefly present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from lightning. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there is some camera movement in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Eden and her partner bust up a drug deal. Eden is punched unconscious and then strung up by her wrists. Sol spits and then pours beer on her before punching her in the face and then repeatedly in the mid-section. Said as a diversion, Eden asks a guard what she has to do to get a drink around there. Canaris has a drink by him. BLOOD/GORE We see Reaper victims whose skin is covered in very bad looking lesions and such, and a few vomit up blood and/or other bodily fluids. In the past, a soldier shoots on infected man with a machine gun, blasting off his hand, killing him and splattering blood all over those around him. As the huge barrier wall is closed, the metal crushes several people's hands, with very bloody/gory results. We see a crow or similar bird sitting on a decomposed human face. A bare-breasted woman in a bathtub opens fire on Eden and her partner with a shotgun, with Eden eventually shooting her dead (and bloody water flows from the holes in the tub onto the floor). Others who are shot are also bloody, including Eden's partner who has part of his face blown off by a shotgun blast, while a hand is hacked off an arm. During a government operation, Eden uses an electronic eyeball as her surveillance. When she's done, she places that eye back into her empty eye socket, and we hear various squishy sounds during that process. After an automated sentry is introduced, we see the system spot a rabbit and then blast it into a bloody pulp with machine gun fire. The team hits something while driving at night, and we then see that it's a cow that's under their wheels (bloody and gory, etc.). The team enters a long-deserted medical facility and we see what looks like dried blood on plastic covering various hospital beds. A punker slams some sort of spiked club down into a team member's helmet, killing him, with bloody results. Various team members then open fire on that intruder and others, riddling all of them with machine gun fire, also with varying degrees of bloody results (spurting out upon impact, etc.). A punker slits a man's throat (with very bloody results), causing the armored vehicle he's driving to crash. More punks are shot, while an armored vehicle drives over another one, with very graphic results (blood and gore). Eden is a bit bloody after Sol beats her. A captive is paraded around in front of the punks, tied up and dangling at an angle. His mouth is a bit bloody, Viper sets him on fire and we see him burn (in full), and she then decapitates his charred body. Sol holds up his charred head, and Viper and others cut into his flesh to feed on him (a slice of that is later presented to Eden as her food). Eden grabs a guard by his facial piercing, gets him to unlock her door, and then yanks that piercing from his face (with bloody results). Eden must avoid a woman coming at her with two swords, and then battles her one-on-one when she gains control of one of them. Cally then grabs that woman's head through some cell bars, allowing Eden to slice off her opponent's hand and then head (with bloody results). We see hanged bodies (decomposed and skeletal) as warning signs around Kane's fortress. We see more virus victims with bad skin lesions and some of them vomit blood and/or other bodily fluids. An infected man kills a guard with an ax (with bloody results). The man then cuts off the guard's hand (needing the fingerprint for secure entry) and then head (we don't see the act, but do see him holding the severed head and then tossing it aside when no longer needed). He then kills another person with that ax. Nelson shoots an infected man who's rushing toward the Prime Minister. He kills that man, but the latter's blood sprays everywhere, including onto the Prime Minister's face. Cally is branded on the back with a hot piece of metal (leaving a bloody scrape). A soon-to-be infected man commits suicide via a handgun in his mouth. We don't see the shot, but we hear it and then see blood splatter onto a wall behind him. A guard's face is smashed and bloody after he's hit there by a spiked ball, while blood comes out of a helmet's facial opening after Eden slams some spiked thing down onto the top of him. Eden has various bloody slices and cuts on her arms after battling various people. During a car chase sequence, we see that Sol has a dead woman propped up on his vehicle, with her previously severed head back on her neck again. Later, another man falls to the road and a pursuing vehicle runs him over, killing him (with bloody/gory results), while Sol appears to have had the skin on half of his body scraped off, and that's bloody. Yet another crash results in a man being decapitated and his severed head flies toward the camera. Eden carries a punk's severed and bloody head, throws it onto the street, and tells others that if they're hungry, they should try a piece of their friend. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE With no better option in their opinion, the government quarantines Scotland with a thirty-foot high wall, hoping the infected will eventually die off, while they also quarantine London when some there end up being infected as well. Sol, Viper and their minions all have bad attitudes for their actions (particularly the murderous ones). Canaris comes off as an always scheming political operative who sheds no tears when his boss, the Prime Minister, is forced from his position. He also doesn't care about the infected, and sees their dying off as cleaning out the clutter, so to speak. Looking over Eden, Sol proclaims, "I could eat you all up" and then proceeds to plant a kiss on her, but she bites his lip. Kane has given up on being a scientist and trying to find a cure, and instead enjoys being the ruler of his own little fiefdom of infection-resistance followers. He also orders that Eden and the other outsiders be killed, with her potential death performed as entertainment for the masses. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. In passing at night in the rain, we see a skeleton in a car, and then others here and there along the road and elsewhere. The team gets out of their armored vehicles and then slowly make their way through the city, guns drawn. They then do the same as they make their way through a hospital, looking for Kane. Breaking orders and common sense, Chandler goes out of the armored vehicle to help a young woman he spots on the street. A captive is paraded around in front of the punks, tied up and dangling at an angle. His mouth is a bit bloody, Viper sets him on fire and we see him burn (in full), and she then decapitates his charred body. Sol holds up his charred head, and Viper and others cut into his flesh to feed on him (a slice of that is later presented to Eden as her food). Eden must avoid a woman coming at her with two swords, and then battles her one-on-one when she gains control of one of them. Cally then grabs that woman's head through some cell bars, allowing Eden to slice off her opponent's hand and then head (with bloody results). Cally and her ally help Eden and some of the team escape from Sol and his minions. To do so, they run to catch up with and then board a departing train. When it looks like a minion on a motorcycle will get one guy, Eden gets off and hits that rider in the face with what looks like a shovel, knocking him from his bike. She then races to get back to the train and barely does. A soon-to-be infected man commits suicide via a handgun in his mouth. We don't see the shot, but we hear it and then see blood splatter onto a wall behind him. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Shotguns/Machine guns/Grenades/Swords/Land mines/Molotov cocktails/Arrows/Ax/Clubs/Spear/Medieval ball and chain/Crossbow: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound and/or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You f*cker," "What the f*ck /is this/happened back there?" "Are you f*cking nuts?" "One seriously f*cked up individual," "Absolutely f*ck-all we can do about it," "Three f*cking years," "A flying f*ck," "F*ck this sh*t, f*ck it," "F*cking go," "You're making me so f*cking mad," "You're f*cking asking for it," "F*ck you," "I f*cking knew it," "It's feeding time at the f*cking zoo," "F*ck 'em," "This is one f*cked-up family," "You really don't give a f*ck, do you?" "Break the f*cker down," "Are you out of your f*cking mind?" "Holy sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Your plan's sh*t," "I still think this is a sh*t plan," "Same sh*t, different era," "Is gonna go t*ts up in short order," "You lazy tw*ts," "What the hell /are you doing/are we going to do?" "So full of piss and vinegar," "Bloody hell," "What's got your knickers in a twist?" "Bollocks," "Balls" (testicles), "Lining up to kiss my ass," "It's pissing down" (raining), "It's medieval out there," "Shut it," "Get your short, hairy ass back in the..." "Bastard," "Give her hell," "Bitch," "Sorry to piss on your chips," "Un-bloody-believable" and "If you're hungry, try a piece of your friend." Some/all of the action, fighting and other stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Sol, Viper and a host of other characters have varying forms of tattoos, piercings, spiked hair or Mohawks and such (all in the punker look). Punks throw many Molotov cocktails down onto the armored vehicles. We see miscellaneous women in midriff-baring tops. A group of punks gives a collective "finger" to someone. Before killing a captive, Viper repeatedly flicks her tongue out at him. Cally is branded on the back with a hot piece of metal (leaving a bloody scrape). JUMP SCENES Some sudden sounds (birds taking flight, an object moving, and sudden music on the score) might startle some viewers during a tense scene. Sudden attacks in that and other scenes might also startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous, and heavily dramatic music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 55 "f" words, 15 "s" words, 1 slang term using female genitals ("tw*t"), 1 for breasts ("t*ts"), 7 hells, 2 asses, 2 bollocks, 2 uses of "Jesus" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Jesus Christ" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY A bare-breasted woman in a bathtub opens fire on Eden and her partner with a shotgun, with Eden eventually shooting her dead (and bloody water flows from the holes in the tub onto the floor). During a raid, we see what appears to be a miscellaneous woman's bare back as she grabs something to cover her front. Looking over Eden, Sol proclaims, "I could eat you all up" and then proceeds to plant a kiss on her, but she bites his lip. Sol is seen shirtless most, if not all of the time. The camera pans up a pole dancer's body in her fishnet stockings, thong bottom, and bikini-style top. We then see another such woman (we see most of their bare butts), and when not moving about their poles, they do a little number with Sol where they both bend over in front of him, and he slaps their bottoms with his hands (to the beat of music playing on the loudspeaker). We see miscellaneous bare-chested men. Sol and Viper briefly but passionately kiss. We see that Sol and/or his minions have some man bound and clad in S&M type leather on the front of a vehicle. SMOKING Eden and Nelson each smoke several times. Eden asks Canaris for a cigarette in a helicopter, but is told there's no smoking there. Following her mission, Eden asks Canaris if he has any cigarettes, and he tells her to come with him as he'll get all that she wants, but she doesn't. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Young Eden's mother tries to tend to her in the pandemonium of the quarantine where the girl was hit in the eye (resulting in a lot of blood there). Moments later, the mother rushes the girl toward a helicopter that's about to lift off, and the mother has to make the decision of letting the girl leave by herself (due to lack of room) rather than stay behind and face certain doom. Spoiler Alert: We learn that Cally is Sol's sister (he has her imprisoned) and that both are Kane's children. Kane says he lost his family when the government walled off their country. We see Eden crying in her old house over an old photo of her as a child with her mother. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT We hear voice over narration by Kane describing what occurred with the virus outbreak and the breakdown of civilization that occurred after that, including talk of rape and murder. How a government should respond to such an outbreak: With no better option in their opinion, the British government quarantines Scotland with a thirty-foot high wall, hoping the infected will eventually die off, while they also quarantine London when some there end up being infected as well. Kane says natural selection over science is what allowed them to live and not be affected by the contagious virus. VIOLENCE In the past, a soldier shoots on infected man with a machine gun, blasting off his hand, killing him and splattering blood all over those around him, and shooting others dead around him. A riot then ensues with various detainees attacking soldiers, the latter firing back with machine guns and such, all with many people being wounded or killed. We also see that young Eden was hit in the eye, as she has blood coming from one eye socket. As the huge barrier wall is closed, the metal crushes several people's hands, with very bloody/gory results. A soldier then shoots more people. Some survivors run across a land mine that blows them into the air, while a guard shoots another (all inside the wall). Eden shoots several people dead while trying to make her way onto a cargo ship to stop a drug deal. Once onboard, she and her partner encounter various people who aren't happy to see them, with both killing various people, while a hand is hacked off an arm that was cuffed to a briefcase. In addition, a bare-breasted woman in a bathtub opens fire on them with a shotgun, with Eden shooting her dead (and bloody water flows from the holes in the tub onto the floor). A man the holds a shotgun to the head of Eden's partner, resulting in a gun standoff as Eden aims her handgun back at him. The other man then slips, the shotgun fires and blows off part of her partner's face, and Eden then repeatedly shoots that man, killing him (also with bloody results). Some soldiers at a fence strike or otherwise knock back the quarantined people who try to climb or come through that perimeter. After an automated sentry is introduced, we see the system spot a rabbit and then blast it into a bloody pulp with machine gun fire. The team hits something while driving at night, and we then see that it's a cow that's under their wheels (bloody and gory, etc.). A punker slams some sort of spiked club down into a team member's helmet, killing him, with bloody results. Various team members then open fire on that intruder and others, riddling all of them with machine gun fire. More rush in and attack the team, with struggling and people thrown and knocked about, etc. This goes on for several minutes, with a lot of people being killed. Punks throw many Molotov cocktails down onto the armored vehicles. A punker slits a man's throat (with very bloody results), causing the armored vehicle he's driving to crash. A hand grenade inside that then blows that woman out the back door. A punker is clotheslined off the top of an armored vehicle as it tries to speed away. More punks are shot, while an armored vehicle drives over another one, with very graphic results (blood and gore). An arrow is fired through a driver's neck, causing her armored vehicle to crash and flip over. One team member fights various punks with various blows, but they soon overwhelm, subdue and beat him. Eden is punched unconscious and then strung up by her wrists. Sol spits and then pours beer on her before punching her in the face and then repeatedly in the mid-section, all trying to get her to talk. He then bites her on the ear, but when he then tries to kiss her, she bites his lip. We hear Sol tell a minion to give a prisoner "hell," and then see that guard with a chainsaw, but we don't see any impact. A captive is paraded around in front of the punks, tied up and dangling at an angle. His mouth is a bit bloody, Viper sets him on fire and we see him burn (in full), and she then decapitates his charred body. Sol holds up his charred head, and Viper and others cut into his flesh to feed on him (a slice of that is later presented to Eden as her food). Eden grabs a guard by his facial piercing, gets him to unlock her door, and then yanks that piercing from his face before breaking his neck. She then sneaks up on another guard and strikes him with something. Eden must avoid a woman coming at her with two swords, and then battles her one-on-one when she gains control of one of them. Cally then grabs that woman's head through some cell bars, allowing Eden to slice off her opponent's hand and then head (with bloody results). Punk bikers and a bus of punks chase two team members through the city, with a biker crashing and landing on his head. Cally and her ally help Eden and some of the team escape from Sol and his minions. To do so, they run to catch up with an and then board a departing train. When it looks like a minion on a motorcycle will get one guy, Eden gets off and hits that rider in the face with what looks like a shovel, knocking him from his bike. She then races to get back to the train and barely does. Angry that the others got away, Sol then punches one of his own men in the face. An armored man on horseback approaches and rears up in front of Eden and Norton, while others are surrounded when they try to flee, with one being shot with an arrow. A guard hits Eden on her leg to make her bow down in front of Kane and then does so again. She then punches that man, but she and the other captives are manhandled as they're subdued. An infected man kills a guard with an ax (with bloody results). The man then cuts off the guard's hand (needing the fingerprint for secure entry) and then head (we don't see the act, but do see him holding the severed head and then tossing it aside when no longer needed). He then kills another person with that ax. Nelson shoots an infected man who's rushing toward the Prime Minister. He kills that man, but the latter's blood sprays everywhere, including onto the Prime Minister's face. Cally is branded on the back with a hot piece of metal (leaving a bloody scrape). A soon-to-be infected man commits suicide via a handgun in his mouth. We don't see the shot, but we hear it and then see blood splatter onto a wall behind him. Kane forces Eden to battle a huge and heavily armored man. Unarmed, she avoids various jabs by his spear, and gets in a few blows back at him, kicking his leg and then head, but he blasts her back with a blow from his shield. He then comes at her with a medieval ball and chain, with the spiked ball grazing her arm. She then climbs up a wall, avoids a guard's sword, and yanks him down into the fighting area where the spiked ball smashes his head after missing Eden. She then gets him repeatedly with the sword and then slams something down into the top of his helmet, killing him (with some blood coming out from the facial opening in the helmet). During this, other prisoners escape by attacking and killing at least one guard, while some explosions rattle a tower. A guard is about to shoot Eden with an arrow, but Norton shoots that man dead first. A team member is hit by an arrow and then several more as he tries to escape with the others. There's a prolonged car chase sequence where another car repeatedly rams Eden's car from behind. She shoots the tires out, however, and that second car runs off the road, off a cliff, and crashes. Other vehicles then pursue her and her passengers, with a crossbow being fired. The arrow misses its targets, and instead goes through an already dead woman's head. Sol then ends up in Eden's car where he fights with her and her passengers, and another punker fights with one of those passengers as well. During this, Eden gouges Sol's eyes and bites his arm, while all sorts of hitting and struggling continue with various people on both sides. A handgun is pulled, but it's fired off to the side, taking out a biker who crashes and causes another vehicle to crash. Yet anther vehicle, with a man tied to the front in S&M type leather, crashes into something and explodes. Another man falls to the road and a pursuing vehicle runs him over, killing him (with bloody/gory results). Yet another crash (when Eden purposefully drives through a bus that's firing huge circular blades at her) results in a man being decapitated and his severed head flies toward the camera. Reviewed March 14, 2008 / Posted March 14, 2008

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